Archives

The 7th annual Hiero Day Music Festival & Block Party is taking place Labor Day, September 3. The event performers have officially been unveiled. Oakland, California's legendary Hieroglyphics crew will be performing at their festival, and joining them will be Black Thought, Talib Kweli, Freddie Gibbs, Mannie Fresh, Elzhi, Georgia... Read more

One of the founding members of Souls Of Mischief, as well as the super-group Hieroglyphics, Tajai Massey is stretching his creative capacity beyond music in 2018. Heads may not know that the Oakland, California MC/producer is also an architectural designer, and his latest project comes in the form of a... Read more

In the early 1990s, Los Angeles, California's Good Life Café played host to some legendary lyricists with its open mic Hip-Hop shows. From Jurassic 5 (Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee) to Freestyle Fellowship, Skee-Lo to Volume 10, many great MCs made pre-album impact on a community of music, poetry,... Read more

Souls Of Mischief's "93 'til Infinity" remains a pinnacle for the veteran Oakland, California quartet. From the Jive/Zomba Records album of the same name, the introductory work from the Hieroglyphics members would see their strongest chart traction for album and single, in showing the rest of the world how they... Read more

In 1997, the Hieroglyphics crew was embarking on the early stages of an independent Hip-Hop empire. Del The Funky Homosapien (or "Del Tha Funkee Homosapien" as it was at the time) had released two heralded albums with Elektra Records. The Oakland, California quarter of Souls of Mischief has been part... Read more

Earlier this year, Souls Of Mischief/Hieroglyphics MC Opio and producer Free The Robots teamed for The Subconscious Mind EP, including "Let The Bass Go." Moving forward, the Oakland, California veteran and the accomplished producer (Capital STEEZ, Nocando, Busdriver) merge towards Sempervirens (September 18). The duo recorded this full-length in a California... Read more

PRhyme member Adrian Younge is always busy, but never stagnant. The Los Angeles, California-based producer/musician is currently wrapping up the Another Life album with Bilal, he's planning a sequel to Twelve Reasons To Die with Ghostface Killah, and he's reportedly concocting more rawness with his band-mates DJ Premier and Royce Da 5'9".... Read more

Of all the members of Souls Of Mischief, it often seems like Opio keeps the lowest profile. The Oakland, California veteran may play the background, but he's laid down some critical verses for Souls as well as the Hieroglyphics releases. With a handful of projects, Ope' showcases a 2015 cut,... Read more

Following last year's The Kitchen LP, Del The Funky Homosapien and the Hieroglyphics crew are back in the lab again. Del, A-Plus, Opio and company freak a new concept at Red Bull Studios, their first new crew music (said to be the first of two tracks) from the session. "Heebie... Read more

The Souls of Mischief took the stage at NYC's Le Poisson Rouge tonight (8/28) and performed their new album, There is Only Now, for the first time ever. The Bay Area legends were backed by their producer Adrian Younge's band, Venice Dawn, as well as A Tribe Called Quest's Ali... Read more

One of 2014's most-anticipated albums is Souls Of Mischief & Adrian Younge's There Is Only Now. The Oakland foursome's first LP in four years is their first with Adrian, who has garnered fame working with Ghostface Killah, The Dramatics, and others. With a strong response already to the group's star-studded... Read more

Tomorrow (August 26), the mighty Souls Of Mischief crew is teaming with producer/musician Adrian Younge to release There Is Only Now. The Oakland, California quartet's first LP in four years finds the crew in their mid-1990s pocket that made them an instrumental element in re-defining West Coast Hip-Hop diversity during... Read more

Lyric videos are all fine and good, but not all of them are from artists who really hold lyrics in high honor. Souls Of Mischief have over 23 years playing with words, using them to move crowds and give Hip-Hop's perception of Oakland Hip-Hop a facelift. "Ghetto Superman" from next... Read more

In just over two weeks, the Souls Of Mischief crew will release their album, There Is Only Now, produced by Adrian Younge. The looks keep coming though, from Tajai, Phesto, A-Plus, and Opio. Today (August 11), S.O.M drop "Panic Struck," which finds some hard, confident rapping over sparse percussion and... Read more

Here's part 2 of DJ Vadim's stellar back in the day mixtape series. In this installment, he tackles 90's Hip-Hop...with aggression. Rather than strictly catering to the hits, he digs in the crates to craft a mix with diverse but cohesive sonic texture. You'll hear music from Nas, The Roots,... Read more

The Souls of Mischief continue their passionate drive to push the boundaries of their music and this time they've laid the experience of that journey to wax on their upcoming album, There Is Only Now, which will be released on August 26th. Sitting down with Hyptrak TV, the Oakland artists... Read more

The Souls Of Mischief are coming out (There Is Only Now, August 26) to remind Heads that the Oakland, California quartet helped architect so much of what is in vogue right now. Tajai, Opio, Phesto Dee, and A-Plus found the proper balance between smooth and thoughtful in the early '90s,... Read more

Time travel through musical backdrops influenced by the past and fostered in the present with the Souls of Mischief and fellow West Coast native Snoop Dogg in visuals to their latest cut, "There Is Only Now." The title track to their upcoming album, There Is Only Now, boasts buttery, ambient... Read more

One of 2014's more anticipated albums appears to be Souls Of Mischief's There Is Only Now. Opio, Tajai, A-Plus, and Phesto spent last year celebrating 20 years of 93 'Til Infinity, with a tour, a box set, and a lot of much-deserved attention from the former Jive Records sensations. While... Read more

2013 was a landmark year for Souls of Mischief, as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of their beloved album, '93 til Infinity. 2014 is shaping up to be another banner year for the group, as they are gearing up to release their first new album in more than 5 years.... Read more

Hieroglyphics fans are up on Domino. Not to be confused with the Los Angeles rapper of the same name, San Francisco's Dom produced early joints for Del Tha Funkee Homosapien (when it was still spelled as such), as well as Souls Of Mischief and Casual. Dom, who has been a... Read more

In a month that's already announced a deluxe reissue of Mobb Deep's 1995 album, The Infamous, as well fellow Queens native/collaborator Nas' 1994 debut, Illmatic, next up is the Souls Of Mischief's debut, 93 'til Infinity. The Jive Records album by Tajai, Phesto, Opio, and A-Plus featured the breakthrough single... Read more

Earlier this month, Beats Music launched. From the creators of the Beats By Dre headphone and electronics lines, this streaming subscription service is the latest competitor in a space that includes Spotify, Pandora and others. With plenty to celebrate, Beats hosted a Grammy Awards weekend party at Los Angeles, California's... Read more

“Yo what's up, this is Tajai of the mighty Souls of Mischief crew…” Even though it’s been 20 years since one of Hip-Hop’s crown jewels dropped, hearing the intro above from Souls of Mischief’s “93 'til Infinity” still has the power to ease the mind in ways few songs can.... Read more

By: Bandini My biggest gripe with the cliché-use of the word “classic” is the freshness in which it’s pulled out. In order to be a classic, you must endure the tendency to forget, overlook, and turn the page. The 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Baritz is classic—with its long lines, razor-sharp edges... Read more

With permission (and some acapellas) from the heralded Oakland collective Souls Of Mischief (on tour now), Gummy Soul's Wally Clark was able to re-craft his own spin on the famed 1993 Jive Records album—93 Still. The original (read: classic) released 20 years ago this month. In a statement, Wally said,... Read more

Here's another freestyle from the SXSW edition of Sway in the Morning. This time the rhymes are courtesy of Souls of Mischief. Check out the video. Related: Oh No – Controlled Riots ft Souls of Mischief (Audio)... Read more

Last year, Oh No dropped a hot track with Sticky Fingaz from Onyx. Now, here's a new one with Souls of Mischief. Check out "Controlled Riots." Related: Casual & J Rawls – Hier-O-Dot ft Souls of Mischief and MHz (Audio)... Read more

Long before Clive Calder built Jive Records into the pop music juggernaut that featured Britney Spears, Nsync, The Backstreet Boys, R. Kelly and Justin Timberlake, the label was the home to some of the most important acts in hip-hop. These artists achieved both commercial and critical success and some went... Read more

The Rock the Bells festival inspired the Reebok Classic Albums by Classic Artists series and it has inspired this playlist. This year's festival has an insane lineup of Nas, Cypress Hill, Black Starr, Mobb Deep, Souls of Mischief, Raekwon, Ghostface, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Common and many of today's up... Read more

Check out the video... http://vimeo.com/21012902 ...and the Pete Rock and Souls of Mischief comparisons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiTy71nSkKw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONpxDfhMjjk... Read more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIlrOWcmPaI&feature=player_embedded I actually think these cats were truly inspired by Souls of Mischief. Peep the flow in '93 Til Infinity and check out the close up panoramic solo shots in the video. See a pattern? .... Read more

Somedayz – Big K.R.I.T. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oVgq-QrwRM Here’s the classic Souls of Mischief joint, ’93 til Infinity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP56Tf5fpjM&feature=player_embedded …as well as an ill version by Kidz in the Hall, Wheelz Fall Off (’06 Til): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VUxm8jRoNw&feature=player_embedded …finally the original, a song called Heather by Billy Cobham. The sampled part start at 2:03 (wait... Read more